24 Sep 2004

Ballot boxes seized in Papuan election protest

1:42 pm on 24 September 2004

Security guards in the Indonesian province of Papua have seized three ballot boxes to protest at not being paid for their work in the country's presidential election.

A group of about 120 angry guards seized the boxes full of an unknown number of votes from a counting centre in the capital Jayapura.

The guards later set fire to their official election hats during a protest outside a local district official's office.

They later promised to return the boxes after receiving assurances they would be paid.

Vote counting for the Indonesian election began on Monday but tallying in Papua province is slow because there are few roads, with some ballots having to be delivered on foot.